As revealed by Nintendo at its most recent Direct presentation, the Japanese console manufacturer will finally release DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. But, that’s not all. Nintendo intends to continue releasing new content for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe well onto 2023.
According to Nintendo, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will get the Booster Course Pass, a paid DLC - it’s free if you subscribe to the Switch Online Expansion Pack. The DLC will contain 48 remastered courses from older Mario Kart titles that will be released in six parts. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is seen as the Ultimate of the Mario Kart franchise. This is not just a subjective perspective either, as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling entry in the series. Not only that, but estimates show that nearly half of all Switch owners own Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Nintendo only reinforced this belief by turning the game into the ‘Ultimate’ of the Mario Kart franchise. The DLC will add nearly every Rainbow Road iteration, improvements to the battle mode, as well as several new characters like Link, among others. By the time Nintendo has finished releasing new content for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the game will have nearly 100 tracks. This is the most tracks in a single Mario Kart game, transforming the game into a true celebration of the franchise. Unfortunately, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC spells the end to all the Mario Kart 9 rumors. It just wouldn’t sense for Nintendo to release a new mainline installment right now. But, if it’s any consolation, it does bring some good side-news for Mario Kart 9. If we go by the usual life cycle of most consoles, the Nintendo Switch would have already turned almost 7 years old once Nintendo is finished doling out the last of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC. At that point, Nintendo would have already announced if not released the successor to the Switch, which suggests that Nintendo wants to release Mario Kart 9 for the next Nintendo console. In other Nintendo news, more third-party titles are headed to the Nintendo Switch soon, including Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky. Also, Microsoft just declared its intent to bring Call of Duty games to the Switch, along with several other established Activision Blizzard IPs.
